Dimes and Quarters
by Demonhuntersandsaltrings
Summary: Burt sends Kurt to Dalton Academy after emotionally and physically damaging his son and realizing his faults. Burt hopes Kurt to be more comfortable with himself and return to him the son he has abandoned. First impressions are everything and Sebastian was just incredibly unlucky. First time writing Kurtbastian so please be kind! Also, a little Niff .
1. Chapter 1

**Dimes and Quarters**

By: Rachel

When you're young, when you're naïve, your heart, the way you see life is almost… pure. But then you grow up, you learn to pick friends, you learn to pick enemies and you learn to not stray from the path laid down for you since you were brought here, for as long as you would remember.

But that path laid down for you, with golden shining bricks, that wouldn't be a future. That just wouldn't be you. And you would know that somewhere down that perfect golden road, you change and you become someone you'd never want to be. It's painful, it's heart wrenching and if you would choose, you'd pull back. Go back to the crossroad point of your life when you realize that that perfect golden path in front of you isn't right, and you don't want it. Instead you choose to take cautious steps towards the darker, crooked, winding path hoping that it'll take you somewhere.

And you hear soft muted voice, growing louder, hands which pull and shove at you. They remind you that you're different, that you mustn't stray that this wasn't the path you should go through. Go back and return to that golden brick road you once came from. But when you look back, it isn't shining anymore, all you see it grey rubble and nightmares. Seeing others pass through it effortlessly and happily, that pains you that you can't do the same. But like they say, life goes on.

That road you still keep on pursuing is nasty, full of filthy wrappers and trash which make you trip and fall and you hate it. You hate it so much, and you wish you'd be one of those people who'll walk on the yellow brick road. You would wish you're normal but then you'd continue down that path once more. When you trip again, you see something shinning, peeking right from under the mess. There you see, right under something so horrible and cruel, a golden brick, cemented on the ground. It doesn't fade away when you reach out to it, it's real, and it's solid and it makes you smile.

And as you make your way down that old road, you'd see more and more of those golden bricks, and they give you hope. At the very end of your journey where the road stops all together, you see that soon, the road is made of solid gold, and they glisten and shine and they make you, so happy. There, you'd see all the others running along next to you. Those who had taken the yellow brick road, in the end, you both ended up at the same place. A different journey, but in the end, everything will be alright. And you'd see you were never that much of a difference to them than you thought you were. But like they say, life goes on.

"Kurt?" Burt whispered slowly as he removed his seat belt to look back at his son, "We're here."

A brunet at the back seat nodded slowly as he removed his ear phones, hearing his father turn off the car as the engines rumbled to a stop.

Kurt took a deep breath, hearing his father exit the car and shut the door behind him. He slowly pocketed his phone and ear phones as he too, exited the vehicle.

He quickly jogged to the trunk of his car and pulled out his own luggage before his father reached it, "I could've helped you know." Burt whispers quietly, and dropping his arm to the side awkwardly.

"I've-"Kurt paused to clear his throat, making sure his voice was in a lower register, "I've got it."

"Kurt," Burt began, his voice seemed sad and lost its loving tone in it, "you don't have to do that-"

Kurt pulled his luggage and ignored Burt as he motioned him forward, "Come on."

Burt seemed like he wanted to say something as he opened and closed his mouth. Kurt raised his eyebrows expectantly but Burt shook his head instead, adjusting his baseball cap.

Kurt followed Burt over a seemingly perfectly paved road, hailing his luggage behind him. The wheels on the luggage mad a familiar clicking sound as it rolled over the small bumps of the path. When his arms began to feel like they'd fall off, they'd reached a huge Garden with another pathway leading towards a grand building.

"Kurt would've liked this." Kurt thought inwardly as he took in the massive garden lined with different shrubbery and massive trees which casted a huge shadow upon the soft green grass. It really was the best garden Kurt had ever seen and it was perfectly maintained-except for that weed over there.

Kurt almost stopped to pull it out but he shook himself off the urge to, gardening isn't what he likes, they'd tell him. And-well yes, he doesn't like gardening.

Kurt chose to look forward instead and jog up to his father who was already reaching the main entrance. Dalton was built like a fucking mansion and he can guarantee that it looks twice the size of the Lima mall.

Sometimes you'd look at a house and it's perfect, just like the outside of Dalton. But would it look as good inside as it does outside? Kurt was mentally preparing himself for peeling wallpaper and sticky floors to greet him but instead he was faced with a magnificent sight.

Dalton was as beautiful as it looked outside, maybe even more so inside.

The walls were lined with old photographs of founders and even a really old sepia colored photograph of possibly the first batch of Dalton students. It read 'Dalton, 1967-1968'. This school had to be at least 20 years older than Mckinley.

Kurt paused to take a closer look at the picture, the ends of his mouths twisted downwards as he saw a roof with a cross perched on top of it.

Blinking, Kurt turned his head to see where his father had went, a groan of frustration threatened to bubble to the top of his throat as Kurt looked between two identical archways. Each with two overly large crosses. A little strange, he'd suppose. But then again, the photograph was strange.

Biting his lip nervously, Kurt slowly chose to the take the right archway with caution. His breathing became slowly more erratic after going through two other corridors but failing to find his father.

He cursed internally at how badly designed the building was, as fancy as it was, all the corridors looked alike and he felt panic rising. How could he have gotten lost on the first day? Fuck.

"My sister just came back from Australia."

"Oh really? Did she bring any souvenirs?"

"Did you really expect her to?"

"Naah, I heard that everything was really expensive there. But she brought these really good chocolate candies."

"Really! I-"

Kurt's breath hitched as he heard numerous voices coming from an end of the hall. He hated social interaction, he really did, and this morning, he couldn't let himself start talking to strangers again if he could avoid it. He looked around as he saw a closet with its door slightly ajar. He quickly ran inside and shut the door noiselessly as he watched the three figures saunter closer, eyeing them from the narrow slit of the door.

Kurt waited with bated breath as he watched them pass, their voices growing increasingly softer the further away they went.

Slowly he pushed the door open, wincing as it creaked. He poked his head out and looked around for a while until he saw his father luckily at the edge of the corridor, looking around and very confused.

With his head down, Kurt slowly went out of the closet and stepped a little closer to his father.

"Kurt!" Burt sighed in relief, "Please, never do that again. I thought something had happened to you."

Kurt shrugged slightly, his eyes still downcast, "I apologize." He says, biting his lip carefully.

"That's alright, Kurt," Burt sighed as he slowly gestured towards where he came from, "I've talked to the head of the school and he wants to meet you."

Kurt nodded silently as he followed his father through the corridor, ignoring how father opened his mouth once, like he wanted to say something but restrained himself instead.

They passed a grand stair case which was luckily, empty, and rounded a corner turning towards a large oak door reading _'Principal Daniel' _on a metal plate.

Burt knocked the door, the three sharp raps echoing the corridor. Burt glanced towards his son who blinked back with a blank look.

"Ah, hello!" a man with a black waistcoat with purple stripes and a welcoming grin, motioned towards the two to enter his office, "do come in."

Burt and Kurt shot the man an empty smile as the three of them all entered the big room, shutting the door with a thud behind them.

"Aaron," Burt says, holding his hand out for the man to shake, "thank you for having us here on such notice."

Mr. Daniels shook his head, chuckling slightly as he motioned towards the two suede chairs placed in front of his desk table, "No need to do that, Burt. Shall we?"

Burt grinned at the man as he and Kurt sat on the chairs opposite of the light blond man.

"So, first impression?" Aaron smiled at the both of them, an air of giddiness present.

"Fine school you've got here Aaron," Burt says, eyes lingering on an angel miniature figure sat on the polished wooden desk.

"Really? I take pride in interior design," Mr. Daniels hummed as he trailed Burt's eyes which were still lingering on the statue and picked up the angel, "This was given to me by a man who I met a church in France. It's always nice to have angels watching over us. Don't you think?"

Burt tore his gaze away from the statue and smiled up at the man, "It's.. uh… interesting, I guess."

"Now," Mr. Daniels smiled and looked away from Burt to Kurt who was sitting slightly slouched over the suede chair who nervously offered the principal a smile, "Is this Kurt?"

"Um, yes, this is Kurt." Burt snapped out of his silent reverie as he turned to look at his son with a slight smile.

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Daniels." Kurt smiled at the man as he offered his hand to shake.

"So Kurt, are you excited for learning in Dalton?" the man smiled genuinely at Kurt who just fidgeted uncomfortably on his seat.

"Well, I guess so. It was a… fast decision."

Mr. Daniels nods as he looked between Burt and Kurt, "I'm sure you'd find your stay here at Dalton exciting to say the least. The boys here are simply wonderful and charming and I'd think you'd make many great friends here. Our facilities are known to be one of the top 10 in all of America and I hope you'd be able to enjoy its practicality as well as its extravagance."

Kurt felt like grimacing internally, it felt like this man was a walking talking robot only there to promote the school.

"Breakfast starts as 8 AM, lunch starts at 1 PM, lunch starts at 7 PM so I would hope you not be late. Our top student, Sebastian, would be delighted to escort you around campus as well. So I suggest you wait on the bench in front of this room for him."

Kurt smiled nervously at the man, hoping it was genuine enough.

The three of them shook hands once more as they all stood up to get ushered out of the principal's room.

"Oh!" the principle paused suddenly, "I forgot to mention, prayer is mandatory every meal time and class time. We wouldn't want to be disrespectful to God no, do we? We have to keep our high status as a prestigious catholic school here in Westerville. And to you, Kurt, have a pleasant stay."

Kurt's jaw nearly dropped as his father quickly thanked the man and pushed the both of them out of the room before Kurt could say anything.

A catholic school. His father sent him to some stupid all boys catholic school. He could've known to be honest. How exactly did he miss the huge church out in the back of the school that was apparently on the photograph as well? And those weird cross ornaments outside those huge archways?

"Dad?" Kurt frowned as he looked up at Burt, "Did you just...?"

Burt looked down at his son and closed his eyes tightly. Albeit a little softer, he had the same look he had on when he waved goodbye to his son at that camp he sent Kurt to in the summer. He let out a shuddering sigh as he willed himself to look Kurt in the eye.

"Yes Kurt. Dalton is a catholic all boys school." Burt managed out with a strangled sigh, like he was guilty doing so.

"Dad, I've told you many times. I've changed and I've learned." Kurt says in monotone, hoping his voice wouldn't slip and crack at any moment, "I know I wasn't living before. But now I know how I'm going to live my life. I don't understand why you're leaving me again."

By this time his voice was an octave higher and he couldn't help it if he was panicking a little. A little, what an understatement.

"Kurt, no." Burt's eyebrows creased in shame, "what I've done during that summer. That- it was a mistake. A very big mistake. And I-"

"So you're making me go through it again. In this school." Kurt says, gritting his teeth, his eyes immediately shot down.

It took nothing but practice to not let his rage show. Rage that was hidden away so tightly in the back of his mind that would burst any second.

"I see." Kurt nodded after a while shooting Burt a confident look, hopefully showing determination, "I failed you, sir. Don't worry. My time here won't be to waste. I will better when I come back. And then you'll trust me sir. I will try harder."

He might have been stupid for a couple of years, but Burt knew that behind that steely and seemingly confident facade his son has put on, was the real Kurt. A one that he desperately whished would come back out.

Burt was at a loss of words, he breathed out loudly and patted his son on the shoulder cautiously as he looked Kurt straight in the eye, "I'll see you in a month."

As he watched the silhouette of Burt round the corner, disappearing from sight, he stood off somewhat awkwardly to the side as he waited for the promised student which would show him around. Kurt was straight, Goddamit, why won't anyone believe him?

"Kurt Hummel?" came a tentative voice. Kurt shut his eyes tightly as he spun around, plastering a smile.

"Yes?" he responds. The boy who stood before him was much taller than Kurt causing Kurt to look up embarrassedly.

_Were people always this tall?_

Kurt cleared his throat as he suddenly felt self-conscious, pulling his hoodie further down. A nervous habit.

"My name is Henry Crucible," he says, offering a hand in which Kurt shook confidently. "I thought Sebastian was going to escort me?" Kurt trailed off.

"I'm going to be your _'guide'_ for today. Sorry Sebastian couldn't make it." Henry offered an embarrassed smile, "It won't be long, and you won't have to worry. It's my first time doing this thing so I'm not as confident as I should be though."

"No, that's fine," Kurt nodded. "Shall we?" Henry smiles as he points towards the hallway.

Kurt nods curtly as he takes his luggage a long with him, the wheels of the luggage rumbling along, creating a peaceful atmosphere. Too bad, Kurt didn't feel that way. Though he knew there was something different about this school than other catholic schools he's heard about, he chose ignore it as Henry points towards the first door.

_**2 Months ago**_

"_Kurt!" Rachel exclaimed, prying away Kurt's hand from ripping a _'wicked'_ poster from his trembling fingers, "What are you doing?! Are you out of your freaking mind?!"_

"_I need to make my dad trust me, Rachel!" Kurt sobbed as he tried to grab hold of the paper again but Rachel held a firm grip on his wrists. The girl had tears pooling from her eyes as she shoved Kurt off, making him fall on the floor like a useless heap he thought he was._

"_And tearing those posters off the goddamn wall would make him trust you?" Rachel countered, biting her lip and looking away, "Kurt, oh Kurt. Broken as you are, you are still perfect. To me, to the whole glee club. We love you Kurt."_

"_Lies!" Kurt screamed, silencing Rachel as he looked down on the floor, feeling awful. Oh, he really was broken is he, "Rachel, he's sending me off. This is my last resort. I've got to get rid of this. I have to get rid of myself. At least for a while."_

_Rachel shot a searching look towards he friend, "sending you off, Kurt? What aren't you telling me?" she knelt down close to Kurt, slowly brushing the tears away even when Kurt swatted her hand off. For what felt like way too long to be a few seconds, Kurt took in a shuddering breath, "he's bringing me to a camp Rachel. And he wants to make me all better. And I don't want to be. So I have to convince him I'm normal. I have nothing else to lose."_

_Rachel stared at him in shock as she shook her head, "no, Mr. Hummel won't ever do that!"_

"_He did, Rachel. He did, and I know, if I go. I won't be myself anymore. So I have to try."_

_Kurt paused as he looked up at his best friend, not knowing what to say. This might be their last time they spend together._

_Kurt slowly stood, up, keeping an eye on the girl to see if she would make a move to stop him. And she almost did, but she didn't. She just watched as Kurt slowly took down all his posters which decorated his room. Kurt closed his eyes as he took hold of his _'wicked' _poster. He slowly picked it up as he watched Rachel stare at him with pleading eyes, like she wanted to say or do something but she just sat there, with wide eyes and trembling lips._

_And with a surge of courage Kurt tore it in half._

_His heart never felt so numb. _

"And now here we are, room 407. Is that correct?" asks as he looks curiously at the key Kurt had tightly gripped in his hand. "Yeah." Kurt says after looking at the gold number on his wooden key holder, "Thank you so much."

"My pleasure," he grinned, "Not too bad for the first time right?"

"No, not all." Kurt responds, nodding towards the man as he slits the key into the key hole.

"I hope to see you soon." Henry gives a tentative smile as he walks away, humming under his breath.

Kurt merely shrugged as he opened the door with a click.

The room was brightly lit with some floaty music playing the background, and there on one of the couches, sat a brunet who was humming as he filled out a quiz in a magazine.

Kurt's eyes widened as the boy chewed on his pen, unconsciously flashing Kurt the title of the cover. _Tiger Beat_? Kurt's eyes widened and let out an awkward cough, alerting the boy on the bed.

"J-Jesus!" the boy yelped in surprise, sitting up straight away and walking over to Kurt with a nervous but relaxed smile.

"Hi, you must be Kurt." Nick smiled slightly as he straightened out his clothes awkwardly. "My name's Nick and I'm your new roommate."

Kurt smiled slightly as he nodded in conformation. He couldn't help his eyes slide towards Nick's bed which still held the magazine sprawled over it. Nick frowned slightly as he tried to see what Kurt was looking at. "I'm sorry." Kurt apologized, feeling awful. He didn't want to come off as judgmental so quickly in the year.

"No! It's fine," Nick blushed as he ran over to his bed to snatch it up, "let's do you."

Kurt stared suspiciously at Nick who seemed deadly serious as he took out his pen, poised on the page.

"So… do you like to go to the mall?"

**A/N: So… thoughts? I know I haven't been updating TLINY for ages but like I have previously mentioned, I was blocked with test week and UN and homework. So, I couldn't do much but this little idea popped in my mind. I never wrote Kurtbastian before but I hope it'll be okay with you guys? If I have to be honest, I'm falling over the Klaine ship and I'm just not too in to it anymore. So just writing TLINY for Klaine and not shipping it would be difficult. But I think I'm slightly coming back in the ship after episode 1 of episode 5. I want to also continue one of my very first fics called 'Home is a fire' which is a Huntbastian one-shot I made. I was also thinking to add a couple more chapters but I'm completely drained of ideas so would you guys mind checking it out and maybe PM or review it? I hope you like where this is going so far and don't forget to give me some comments if you like it or you think my writing needs to be more improved. Sorry for long author's note! (PS. I made Rachel great here because in most fics she's horrible)**

_**If you're wondering if I had updated this fic, it's kind of a yes and a no. I always do this I know, but I'm trying to wrack my brain for ideas but none are coming just yet so I just edited this chapter to make the characters more in character if you know what I mean? Anyway, hopefully I'll have ideas soon!**_

**REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Dimes and Quarters**

By: Rachel

_Chapter 2_

Kurt awoke by a crashing sound by the window, his eyes instantly opening as he remained painfully still before shooting up from his bed to see a boy wincing from knocking over a lamp, rubbing his head in pain. The boy swore softly as he was suddenly aware of Kurt's presence.

"Uhhh, it's not what you think." the boy says lamely, instantly raising his hands up in surrender as he watched Kurt's eyes dart towards a lamp by his bed side table.

"Who are you?" Kurt blinked groggily as he turned on his lamp instead of the alternative the boy had assumed. The boy's face came into vision as Kurt slowly took him in. His hair was seemingly an unnatural blond, he was wearing a black hoodie, blue shirt and a pair of jeans. As Kurt surveyed him, he noticed that one of his hands was hidden behind him.

"And… what's behind your back?" Kurt squinted suspiciously.

"Oh! It's just-" the boy made a motion to pull his hand out till Kurt hissed, "Slowly."

The boy sputtered but nodded as he slowly took out his hand to show Kurt some candy, "Well, uh. As you can see, this is candy." he said slowly.

Kurt gave the boy an annoyed look, "Oh okay, and this suddenly make sense now. Who are you?"

"Well, my name is Jeff. I go to school here." the boy—Jeff, whispered.

"That really doesn't explain why you're here with candy." Kurt frowned, glancing at the boy, looking slightly exasperated. Can't blame him, he's learned to keep away from his usually snappy attitude but it's five in the morning and right now, he has the right to be annoyed.

"Him!" Jeff pointed towards Nick suddenly with his free hand, "I mean, Nick. He's my friend. Well um, we usually get up around this time to go and see the sun rise together. And well, the candy wakes him up."

"This seems highly unlikely, but alright, go wake him up then." Kurt motioned towards Nick, stifling a yawn.

Jeff smiled awkwardly back at him and started shaking Nick, "Hey," Jeff whispered in his ear, "Get up. Nick, wake up. I got candy."

Nick blinked several times and yawned, stretching his arms. He glanced over at Jeff and grinned at the handful of candy he got in his hand. "Thanks buddy."

Jeff shook his head, "No problem,-" he glanced at Kurt who was still staring at them with one eye open, "but I have a feeling your roommate wants some explanation. I'll be waiting for you down in the garden alright?"

Nick turned towards Kurt like he just remembered he was there and smiled back at Jeff, "Okay- but wait. Can I get an Alphabet candy?"

Jeff shrugged as he opened the wrapper and plopped it into Nick's awaiting mouth.

"Thanks, see you." Nick smiled after Jeff who waved at him and proceeded to walk back down through the window.

"Oh, and bye, Nick's roommate." Jeff hesitated for a while till he waved at Kurt as well and disappeared down the window.

Nick slowly turned towards Kurt, "Oh hey, roomie." He said nervously, "So… that was just my best friend. Bringing me candy. And stuff."

Kurt just sat there staring after Nick as he shook his head and hid himself under the covers.

Eventually Nick shrugged at his roommate's behavior and got up to shower and change into some comfy clothes.

"Are you even allowed to go out? It's not time for breakfast yet." Kurt warned with a muffled voice.

Nick gave him a grin from the doorway and nodded, "Yeah, well maybe no, but no one really cares except the principal who doesn't exactly live here, so there's that."

Kurt was about to protest some more but decided to stay silent again as he watched Nick walk over to the window to climb down soundlessly. Speaking out usually got Kurt in trouble and he didn't want to ruin his chances of getting along with his roommate.

Kurt attempted to return to his dreamless sleep but it seemed like it would be impossible right now. So after tossing and turning around, Kurt gave up trying to go back to bed and with a loud sigh; he abandoned his bed, taking time to slide off.

He knew he should have probably unpacked more of his boxes yesterday but he just didn't have the will to bother and now he was regretting it. Glancing around the pile, he took a white box labeled 'Dalton' and pulled out a pocket knife from his backpack, sliding off the tape carefully.

Various articles of clothing were rolled neatly in stacks as Kurt carefully removed each one digging deeper to find his Dalton uniform. After a few minutes he managed to find his Dalton Uniform tightly packed next to his exercise clothes. He couldn't call it any other since that was exactly what he used it for.

Slowly abandoning his plans to shower and get dressed, Kurt took up the bundle next to his Dalton uniform and tucked it under his arms. He stifled a yawn threatening to escape him and padded to his bathroom to get changed, his feet sliding soundlessly over the carpeted floors.

The sun was shining bright over his head as he rounded the corner to see if Burt had got his bike delivered to his school yesterday. He sighed in contentment as he spotted a navy blue bike leaning on a fence and approached it gripping the handles as he pushed it to the lane going around the garden.

Climbing onto his bike, Kurt begins riding around the school complex. He had seen plenty of Dalton's interior but the outside was as much of a beauty.

The garden was well tamed and he swore he saw glistening morning dew falling over the tip off forest green leaves. He took in a stuttering deep breath of morning air around him. He sighed as he realized that this didn't really help with the constant suffocating feeling he was so accustomed to.

Just as he was about to take the path way back to the bike stands, Kurt stops right in front of the chapel which, as it turns out, wasn't as small as Kurt had pictured.

He knew he probably shouldn't have but he couldn't help it. He carefully got off his bike and abandoned it in front of the chapel as he took the short trip through the cracked stepping stones where wild leaves and flowers grew in between them. It was so odd that everything else was managed well except for this part of the school. The grass seemed like it hadn't been tamed for ages and it was so far off campus, Kurt could hardly see the building of the school peeping out of the trees. It was like Dalton had a small back forest no one talked about.

He winced a little as his feet sunk into the wet mud when he fell slightly off balance on the uneven stones. Shaking the mud off, Kurt grew closer and closer till he was right in front of the chapel.

"Is this where everyone prays?" Kurt frowns in thought as he slowly reaches forward to try pry the rusting golden doors open.

"Hey!" a voice cried, sounding annoyed enough to warn Kurt to back off without so many words. Kurt quickly let go as he took a glance to the right seeing an old, frail woman looking menacingly at his direction.

Kurt didn't know what possessed him but he ran away quickly, hoping the woman couldn't chase after him given her physique wasn't as great as his. Well as great as a boy who occasionally bikes. And a boy who's getting exhausted right now. He was obviously used to be chased around but he wasn't much of a runner, he was more of a person that could hide.

Kurt quickly picked up his abandoned bike and rode it as fast as he could to the main entrance of the campus, panting slightly as he joined his bike to the other bikes lined in the bike rack. Kurt staggered to the front steps, his legs weighing him down with every step.

"-and the elephant ate him!" Nick concludes. Jeff rolled his eyes instead of a horrified gasp that Nick had anticipated, "Nick, your cousin did not get eaten by a huge elephant. I saw him buying groceries when I was out with my dad two days ago."

Nick frowned at Jeff and huffed, "You're not fun." Nick paused for a while when he saw Kurt. Kurt's feet were slightly wobbling as he tried to climb up the stairs. "Hey!" Nick managed to call out as he quickly grabbed Kurt's arm to make him steady, "What happened?"

"N-nothing." Kurt grumbled, muttering under his breath, "I am not fit. I am not fit. I'm not doing that shit again."

Thankfully Nick didn't hear the last string of jumbled words as he helped Kurt up the stairs. Below Jeff hesitated to help Kurt for a while, "Damn it," he sighed as he rushed to Kurt's aid as well.

"Thank you," Kurt said tiredly after they got him up those stairs. "I could walk to my dorm now."

"No, like seriously Kurt, what the hell happened?" Nick asked worriedly. Kurt offered a wry smile instead of an answer. He wanted to ask about the chapel in the back, but he wasn't sure if he should and he was so close of getting in trouble he wouldn't want to risk it.

Nick bit his lip as he shook his head, "I'm not going to pry then. But I don't care what you say, I'm helping you back to our room before you collapse again—are you sure you don't want to go see a doctor or something?" Kurt shook his head, wincing. He sagged down a little into Nick's arms as the other boy helped him down the hall. Jeff was about to help as well but Nick shook his head, "it's alright. I'll take him. I'll see you at breakfast, yeah?"

Jeff hesitated for a moment as he looked between the two but eventually nodded as he walked back down the stairs and disappeared around a corner before shooting Kurt a questioning look.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me?" Nick asked once more, "Sorry, I can't stop my curiosity." Nick added shamefully at Kurt's pointed look. Kurt pondered for a moment, "A spider chased me." He said finally.

A suspicious look was thrown Kurt's way but Nick refrained from making a comment as they hobbled to the elevator shack.

"Kurt'll be down in a minute." Nick smiles as he slides into his seat next to Jeff. A lanky teen smiles warmly at Nick in surprise, "Oh! So you're Kurt's roommate?"

Nick nods a little, "How do you know Kurt?".

"I showed him around the other day. Sebastian couldn't make it" Henry explained as he started cutting his toast. Henry sighs slightly, "must be in a club somewhere at the time."

"Scandals?"

"Naah," Henry shakes his head as he piles down some bacon on his plate, "he says that place was too cheap for his liking." Nick shrugs in reply as he begins to chew on his toast.

"Well, though Sebastian isn't here yet… let us discuss about the charity banquet we're going to be performing in on Wednesday." Wes announces excitement evident on his face. A dark skinned boy next to him beams at everyone else, nodding along, "Wes and I decide we're going to be singing 'Kangaroo Court' by capital Cities. Any thoughts on this song choice?"

"Well I kind of like it." Jeff quipped through a mouth full, glancing around the table for a reaction other than his own. The group looked at each other nodding along at the idea as Wes clapped his hands, "Well it's settled then."

"I thought we got to perform two songs?" Henry trailed off as the dark skinned boy gave a slight sigh, "Our second song was cut off to make room for another show choir—It really shouldn't be a big deal though!" he added when a frenzy of voices mumbled their distaste for the situation, "It's only a one-time thing. The Warblers got to do this every year and this would be a first big event for that new show choir!"

"True, David," Nick sighed, "But, that's the thing. Wasn't all this supposed to be our charity banquet? I mean, Wes, aren't you the one that loves sticking with traditions? Isn't this like _our_ tradition?"

"Okay enough you guys," Wes sighs as he wipes his mouth with a napkin, "We're going to show our support for this new show choir and sit down to listen to their songs. And that's final."

The Warblers gave out a slightly disgruntled sigh as the sound of speakers crackling hushed the noise from the breakfast tables. As if on cue, Kurt came rushing in with windswept hair and flushed cheeks, a panicked look on his face since he didn't know where to sit.

Nick spotted Kurt and waved him over causing Kurt to sigh in relief as he slowly slid into the table.

"You're kind of late." Nick mumbled jokingly. Kurt huffed slightly, but didn't say anything else.

"Good morning students!" Principal Daniel announces loudly in his mike, "I hope you all have a head a good sleep and have had a healthy breakfast. A second term and Dalton means much more time to learn and do you best! I'd also like to welcome back the students who came back this year and the new ones as well."

The principal surveyed the room in a sort of grin which seemed friendly but slightly menacing as well, "Before we get too excited for our early classes today, let us pray. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Dear lord, we thank you for this blessed day today—"

After that was a succession of a jumble of words that Kurt wished he had a deeper faith in. Most of the inhabitants of the hall had their heads down in prayer but most were looking around soundlessly in disinterest. He noticed that Nick and Jeff were among some of those boys and were smiling at each other through bowed heads. He accidentally caught Jeff's eye and the blond had shot him a weird look that Kurt couldn't understand before ducking his head to face Nick again.

Kurt quickly looked away in confusion. Was it possible for someone to dislike him so quickly?

"Amen." came a booming voice over the sudden erupted chatter of the students as they got up from their seats and began hooking their bags over their shoulders. Kurt immediately began to sputter, "But I haven't even eaten breakfast yet."

Kurt's stomach let out a humiliating grumble only heard by his ears as he grabbed the nearest boy, apologizing profusely when the boy almost tripped.

"I am so terribly sorry," Kurt exclaimed embarrassedly as the boy smiled at him instead, "is it possible to bring food out of the stall?"

The boy offered him a charming smile and Kurt could feel his heart warmed by a simple act. He softly grabbed Kurt's arm with a calloused hand and gripped his arm softly, "Come on."

Kurt followed the boy, dumbfounded and a little bit frightened to be honest. He had only asked a question, not an adventure. They pushed through the massive bodies of students exiting the dining hall and turned a corner leading towards a hall Kurt was unfamiliar with.

"I'm sorry," Kurt panted as they continued to run down the hall, taking sharp turns, "But I really don't know who you are."

"My name's Blaine." The boy smiles as Kurt, his hazel eyes light and cheerful as they walked up some stairs to finally reach his dorm room, "I'm a friend of Nick's and part of the Warblers. I don't think you're allowed to bring food outside so—" Blaine paused to jiggle his keys into the key hole and pulled Kurt into his room, "I have some food for you. Breakfast is really important you know."

"How did you know I'm new here?" Kurt asks, perplexed. He figured that there were just enough Sophomore boys for him not to get really noticed. Blaine laughed a little as they entered the room, "I take interest in transfer students."

"Oh." Kurt's said in a hushed tone, aware of how weird that sounded.

Blaine released Kurt's hand and walked over to a trunk near his bed and pulled out various packages of food and some bread still wrapped in their packaging. "Didn't mean to sound like a creeper there." Blaine adds quickly, "Here, have some."

Kurt looked at the food in Blaine's hand still weary of the boy's intentions. Going to school in Mickenly really did make him more alert and cautious. "But…why exactly?—Thanks." Kurt nods gawkily as he accepts the bread.

Blaine pretended to hum thoughtfully as he placed the food on his bed and sat next to it, "I was a transfer student, and well. I just thought you might need some…. assistance."

Kurt nodded slowly as he took some the food, unwrapping it. "Wouldn't your roommate be worried that you aren't next to him?"

"Sebastian?" Blaine shook his head, "Naah, we're not really that close. He mostly hangs out with Henry, a fellow Warbler."

Kurt nods slightly as he quickly munches on his bread with a swift look at the grandfather clock placed near the windows of the room. "We better get going. Do you know what you have first?" Blaine asks as he gets up.

Kurt swallows down his food before responding, "History, I think."

"Really?" Blaine raises a triangular eyebrows in amusement, "Me too. Fantastic. We could go there together."

Kurt sighed in relief as he walked out of his class of the day. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as he thought it would but it wasn't better than he hoped it would be.

He sat in the far back of the class alone, like always, but he didn't have the will to mind anymore. At least he didn't have to make small talk with anyone. He had just sat with his eyes focused on the teachers who showed him what they were going to learn for the next semester and other normal things. Some had taken the initiative to start the class with some religious anecdotes. Though Kurt knew he would probably never be a religious person, he couldn't deny the fact that the stories were funny enough to make the corners of his mouth turn up with a smile.

Walking out of the class, Kurt was greeted by the sight of 5 Blazer clad boys chatting energetically. He was about to weave around them and walk back to his dorm to find his roommate when he spotted Nick among them.

Sticking with Nick seemed to win over his previous option so Kurt slowly walked over to them, feelings lightly awkward and out of place until Nick grinned widely at him and gently beckoned him closer to the group.

"—My cousin is going to have a birthday party next Saturday. It'll be really great if you guys could come? We could go watch a movie and then we'll just have fun at his house afterwards," Jeff asks the group who merely shrugged and agreed.

"Wes, just invite the Warblers. I'm sure they'll like to come as well." David adds, looking at Jeff for conformation. Jeff gives a thumbs-up as Wes pulls out his phone to send out a mass text to the Warblers.

"Um yeah, about that, sorry buddy, I can't go with you guys." A brunet with coiffed hair and a set smirk crossed his arms as he joined their conversation.

Jeff frowned slightly, "Why? It'll be fun. Plus, Johnny is sort of my cousin and he wanted all of the Warblers to be there." the boy gave a shrug with a fake sympathetic look towards Jeff, "Trust me, when he means the Warblers, everyone except me."

"Why? I thought you sort of liked him?" Jeff asked. "Oh I did, but after I slept with him I didn't call him." the latter shrugged like it was no big deal. Jeff gaped at the boy for a while till he shot Sebastian a murderous look, "He's my cousin you ass! I can't believe you-"

"I'm sorry," the boy says with a nervous smile as he rushes away from the crowd. Jeff quickly ran after him, "come back here! Jesus Christ, Sebastian!"

"Do not use the Lord's name in vain Jeff!" Sebastian's voice echoed the hallway as the squeak of the shoes hitting the marble floors grew softer and softer along with Jeff's profanities.

"I'll go get them," Nick sighs as he turns towards Kurt, "just hang out with the Warblers first, they're nice people. I'll see you back in the dorm. If you remember where it is?"

Kurt nodded once as he saw Nick disappear down the hallway. Kurt kept looking on where Nick just left to hopefully prolong the time till he had to talk with the group. He knew this place was sort of like a Catholic school but did they have gangs or something? He had to admit the name had a catchy ring to it but he wasn't sure he wanted to join a bird group anytime soon.

"So," a voice broke his thoughts as he turns to see where it came from, "So you're new here aren't you?" a friendly voice asks, and it wasn't really small talk either. It seemed like this guy genuinely cared where he came from.

"Well, uh, I'm from Ohio." Kurt stutters. The guy laughs a little making Kurt give back a nervous smile, "Aren't we all? What I mean is, from what part of Ohio?"

"Oh, uh, I was originally from Lima." Kurt says awkwardly. "Oh Lima huh? I have a sister that's from Lima. She goes to William McKinley High School. Do you know that school?"

Kurt shrugs slightly, "Yeah, I guess."

The boy smiles slightly sympathetically towards Kurt and Kurt can't really tell why but he hates that look. He hates it so freaking much.

"Well, my name is David." The boy offers his hand. Kurt manages a weak smile and shakes his hand as he falls into the inevitable array of voices which greet him. Many of them enthusiastic and friendly enough to make him feel out of place. He recognizes all of them thankfully even before the conversation. He knew Wes and David who seemed to be attached by the hip suspiciously from the dining hall in the morning before being swept away by the swarm of students at the time, the tall guy who he had forgotten the name of who had been his escort for his first day and of course there was Jeff. Who he wasn't really sure of wanting to get to know.

"Actually, we have a Charity Benefit Concert thing tomorrow," Wes hands Kurt a ticket, shrugging, "If you're interested."

"Well, I really don't know…" Kurt tries to hand back the ticket to a vaguely Asian looking guy. Wes shakes his head slightly, "Just a thought Kurt," he winks as he loops his arm around David's arm before they turn to walk the other direction, "See you, Kurt."

Kurt's eyes widened alarmingly when Henry gave a friendly wave at Kurt before walking off leaving him with Jeff.

"Um, hello—" Kurt starts as Jeff promptly sighs in boredom before walking away. "Well that was rude." Kurt sighs sadly as he walks back to his dorm, fingers curling around the ticket.

On one hand he thinks it might be too early to start socializing again but then again, he got a taste of Isolation and he really does not want to have any feeling akin to that again. If possible.

Kurt sighed loudly before shoving the ticket into his blazer pocket.

**A/N: So basically, I apologies for how long it took me to update but I was just really busy with my work but the good news is that chapter 3 is basically done, it needs a little editing but that's probably it. It'll probably be up by next Sunday? Because I'll be gone for 9 days for my school trip to Thailand so yeah. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and how I somehow introduced Sebastian this chapter but haven't went into him meeting Kurt just yet. **

**Please Review!**


End file.
